Empty seder table at Westminster to represent plight of Israeli hostages

Organised by the UK Hostages & Missing Families Forum, the table “seeks to evoke a powerful visual representation of the void that their absence creates in the lives of their loved ones and communities.”

[Missing Credit]

Nivi Feldman, from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told the JC: “This year, celebrating the holiday of freedom and coming out of slavery in Egypt feels harder than ever when 113 hostages remain in inhumane conditions in Gaza and their fate is unknown.

“We have located it in Westminster so as many MPs as possible can see the sheer number of people who will be missing from families’ Seder tables this year.”

After Wednesday, the Seder table will be moved to JW3.

The Pesach installation comes as the Board of Deputies urged individuals and families to set an extra place at their Seder table for one of the hostages still in captivity.

Board president Marie van der Zyl said: "At the Seder table, the youngest among us will ask the traditional Four Questions. But for many of us, there will be another question this Pesach, left unanswered.

“How can we discuss being redeemed from slavery, when Hamas still holds [over] 130 men, women and children in the most vile captivity? How can we celebrate our freedom, when our brothers and sisters are not free?”